Proponents of recreational cannabis say they are still short votes for legalization

Christine Stuart, CTNewsJunkie.com

Updated 4:43 pm, Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Photo: Christine Stuart / CTNewsJunkie

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Rep. Robyn Porter of New Haven.

Rep. Robyn Porter of New Haven.

Photo: Christine Stuart / CTNewsJunkie

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Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden.

Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden.

Photo: Christine Stuart / CTNewsJunkie

Proponents of recreational cannabis say they are still short votes for legalization

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HARTFORD >> Advocates of legalizing recreational marijuana use still believe it’s the right thing to do, which is why they held a press conference again Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building.

As lawmakers look to pass a two-year state budget, cannabis supporters are still fighting for a chance to be included. But state Rep. Josh Elliott said they are still 17 votes shy of approval within the House Democratic caucus.

“It comes up virtually every caucus and not by the same people,” Elliott, a freshman Democrat from Hamden, said. “And it’s hard to tell if there’s any movement on it.”

He said Democrats have been losing seats for six years and “you would think that people in our caucus would want to jump onto something that’s got 63 percent support.”

Nearly two-thirds of Connecticut voters, or 63 percent, support making possession of small amounts of cannabis legal for adults, according to a March 2015 Quinnipiac University poll. The university has not done any polling on Connecticut issues since June 2016.

A bill that would have legalized the drug was debated and then tabled by the House in June.

Eight states and Washington, D.C. have legalized recreational pot.

For Rep. Robyn Porter, a New Haven Democrat, it’s a social issue.

“Yes, we have a budget problem in Connecticut that’s persistent,” Porter said. “But more importantly for me, it’s a social issue.”

She said black and brown people are being sent to jail for non-violent offenses and crimes that have only impacted themselves.

She said they were caught with marijuana for personal use and “were caught up in a system designed to decimate, as far as I’m concerned, people who look like me.”